Reliance Industries reports record net profit of Rs 9,459 cr for first quarter; Jio had 215.3 million subscribers as of June

Reliance Industries (RIL), on Friday, reported a record Rs 9,459 crore net profit for the April-June first quarter, on the back of a near doubling of earnings from its mainstay petrochemical business.

Net profit of Rs 9,459 crore, or Rs 16 per share, in the first quarter of the 2018-19 fiscal, was up 18 percent over the Rs 8,021 crore, or Rs 13.5 a share, net profit in the same period a year ago, the company said in a statement.

Revenue was up 56.5 percent to Rs 1,41,699 crore. The April-June 2017 profit has been taken after excluding the Rs 1,087 crore exceptional income from the sale of stake in Gulf Africa Petroleum Corp.

Reliance said pre-tax profit from the petrochemical business was up 94.9 percent to Rs 7,857 crore on better margins.

RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said: "Our petrochemicals business generated record EBITDA with strong volumes and an upswing in polyester chain margins. Refining business performance remained steady despite the seasonal weakness in cracks."

Jio's profit rises 20%

Reliance Jio said its standalone net profit has increased 19.9 percent to Rs 612 crore for the three month period ended 30 June, 2018, as against the preceding quarter. The company had registered a net profit of Rs 510 crore in January-March 2018, Reliance Jio said in a statement. Its revenue from operations came in at Rs 8,109 crore in the June quarter, up nearly 14 percent from the fourth quarter of FY'18.

The subscriber base stood at 215.3 million as on 30 June, 2018, the Reliance Industries group firm said.

Ambani said: "Jio continues on its path to drive digital revolution in India. We doubled our customer base and most user metrics in the last 12 months. 215 million customers within 22 months of start is a record that no technology company has been able to achieve anywhere in the world."

Ambani added that the "continued strength in financial results of Jio despite competitive intensity reinforces the customer uptake of its services and its strong operating leverage".